Chapter # 8 Paragraph # 3 Study # 1
March 26, 2017
Humble, Texas
(080)
1769 Translation:
18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time [
are] not worthy [
to be compared] with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
19 For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.
20 For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected [
the same] in hope,
21 Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
22 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.
23 And not only [
they], but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, [
to wit], the redemption of our body.
24 For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?
25 But if we hope for that we see not, [
then] do we with patience wait for [
it].
1901 ASV Translation:
18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed to us-ward.
19 For the earnest expectation of the creation waiteth for the revealing of the sons of God.
20 For the creation was subjected to vanity, not of its own will, but by reason of him who subjected it,
in hope
21 that the creation itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the liberty of the glory of the children of God.
22 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.
23 And not only so, but ourselves also, who have the first-fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for [
our] adoption, [
to wit], the redemption of our body.
24 For in hope were we saved: but hope that is seen is not hope: for who hopeth for that which he seeth?
25 But if we hope for that which we see not, [
then] do we with patience wait for it.
- I. The "Reckoning".
- A. The word is used to refer to God's declaration of righteousness to those who believe; He "reckons" their faith to lead to a righteous standing before Him. It is the word "impute" in Romans 4:6 and 8.
- 1. Paul uses this word in 19 verses in Romans, the next closest use in one book is 2 Corinthians with seven uses. 11 of those 19 are in chapter 4.
- 2. Romans 3:28 uses the word in a crucial "conclusion" of most of Romans 1:1-3:27: "...we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the Law." 4:3 quotes Genesis 15:6 as the original declaration that God "counts" one thing as the essential equivalent of another even though there is no apparent link (2:26 claims "uncircumcision" is counted as "circumcision" in some cases).
- B. The word is consistently used to refer to conclusions drawn that lay the foundation for future choices and actions. In other words, what a man "reckons" is that by which he lives. What God "reckons" governs His actions toward men.
- C. Paul is not just saying that his "doctrine" includes certain facts; he is saying that his foundation for living is rooted in certain facts.
- II. That Which Is "Reckoned".
- A. That "not worthy" (emphatic, out of order in the sentence).
- 1. The "not" is ouk and is the strongest of the single-word negatives used in Greek.
- 2. The issue of "worthiness" is illustrated in Romans 1:32 where it clearly means "fully qualified".
- 3. Acts 26:20 chimes in with the idea that certain standards are set by the concept of repentance that necessarily require behavior that is "meet" to the claim; those standards are required to be "met".
- 4. The bottom line seems to be that "worthiness" is something judged on the basis of whether something/someone actually meets the standards set.
- B. Are the sufferings of the now time.
- 1. Paul's claim is that the "sufferings" that are involved in this present time do not meet the standards set for God's dispensing of "glory".
- a. This is not just any "sufferings"; Paul has already qualified this issue by his use of "suffer together with Christ" in 8:17.
- 1) The essential essence of Christ's sufferings is boiled down to being subjected to The Father's intention to permit significant evil while pursuing salvation for His elect.
- 2) The believer "suffers together with Him" by being subjected to many evil realities so that the elect can be drawn to faith and salvation.
- b. And even those sufferings must be attended by "faith" mixed with gratitude in order for them to qualify as "suffering together with".
- 2. This claim is an attempt to say that these "sufferings" simply do not have any of the necessary qualities that would legitimately warrant the giving of the "glory". It's like saying "you should not be able to buy a Koenigsegg CCXR Trevita ($4.8 million) for a dime".
- C. In comparison to the "about to come glory".
- 1. The future God has planned and declared, as to the "glory" involved, is so far beyond anything that we know as "compensation for" our having to deal with difficulties that those difficulties simply do not register on the scale of "bases for being given glory".
- 2. The "about to come" terminology is "elastic": it is "about to come" in terms of the reckoning of God who measures time in terms like "a thousand years is as a day"; it may not be "about to come for persons limited to 70 years on this earth where many days go by as a plodding turtle and others speed by like a flash of lightning. After 2,000 years of "waiting", many men succumb to the notion that God has to adapt Himself to the concepts of men in order to possess any integrity. What nonsense. Since when is it the Creator Who has an obligation to adapt Himself? By every reason, it is creatures who are under the absolute obligation to be the ones to adapt.
- 3. This "glory" is that to which Paul referred in the preceding verse where he addressed the issue of our "being glorified together with Christ" on the basis of our "suffering together with Him". At issue is the experience that comes to those exposed to "glory". The greater the exposure, the greater the joy; the lesser the exposure, the lesser the experience of joy.
- D. This glory is to be "unveiled" unto us.
- 1. The "revelation" is an "unveiling" in the sense that what has been hidden so that we may not understand, and, consequently, use is now revealed so that we may understand and, therefore, use.
- 2. The "unto" is not "in" (as the Authorized Version renders it). It is an unveiling "to" those whose privileges are about to be increased in an incomparable way.